Sing!

Keith and Kristyn Getty’ book, Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church, is a good one for pastors, song leaders, church members, and parents alike. The following are a few quotes that caught my attention:

“Repeatedly and throughout Scripture, we are commanded to be a singing people. There are more than four hundred references to singing in the Bible and at least fifty direct commands. We are not to disregard the command because we don't like the music or the personnel or are not in the mood... Colossians 3:16 also speaks into how we sing… “with thankfulness in your hearts to God” … Thankfulness is more than saying the words with your lips. In fact, you are not singing Christianly if you are singing only with your lips… How we sing does reveal how we think and feel about something” (14, 18).

“If our songs are not giving us a balanced, rich, nutritious diet, we will not be spiritually healthy people… Could it be that many of our services today turn people off who are suffering and seeking Christ? Do our songs present a veneer of happiness rather than a robust joy in the midst of pain? Are the fountains we point to as we sing deep enough to meet the thirst that the trials of life give us? If not, then our diet is impoverished—our words are too small” (46).

“Songs help us train children in the ‘language’ of the Christian faith. What we want to teach our kids travels deeper inside them when we sing it rather than only speak it to them… Singing together in the home is an excellent way to prompt questions and give answers and aim for depth of spiritual understanding in our children in a memorable way” (57-58).

“Our singing (even when it joyfully falls off pitch) should always, unapologetically, contribute to our sense of family and community and never be rushed through, mumbled through, or handed over to the ‘professionals’” (76).

“Biblically rich content in song, sung by people who look like they mean what they are saying, helps teach the gospel as something that is credible and powerful rather than cultural and optional” (78).

“We must actually believe and live the truths we sing, otherwise what we sing can make us hypocritical, and not only doesn’t attract non-believers—it turns them off. It is easy to sing about the Lordship of Christ; far harder to live under it” (92).

“The songs we sing together are lifelines that draw each of us back to the heart of the King we serve and to the priorities of the kingdom we are members of. The songs we sing to ourselves are what tether us to our Lord day by day. The songs we sing to others are what proclaim His kingdom manifesto in a way that reaches deep into their heads and their hearts” (98).

In the end, the question is “Will you sing?”

“Sing praises to the Lord, O you His saints, and give thanks to His holy name” (Psalm 30:4 ESV).

© 2020 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Worship in Truth

Once in a while in a worship service I have the thought, “Why am I singing this song? It’s the opposite of what I feel right now.” One song that I often have a hard time singing is “He Has Made Me Glad.” I realize that feelings aren’t everything and that there are many reasons to have joy in Christ even when we don’t feel glad, but you have to admit that many songs draw on emotional imagery and ideas to convey their message. So I may end up feeling like a hypocrite for singing words that don’t describe me at that particular time. (I’m assuming that the selected songs have correct theology.) I think there are several truths to consider.

1) Worship is commanded.

“Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth!” (Psalm 96:9 ESV). “Sing praises to the Lord, O you His saints, and give thanks to His holy name” (Psalm 30:4). “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).

The biblical authors never said, “Worship if you feel like it.” However, it should be noted that worship is ascribing worth to God, which means recognizing and communicating what is true about God. It is not necessarily an emotional display or an expression of how we might feel at a given moment. Worship is about God, not us.

2) It’s not always appropriate to sing.

“By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion… How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:1, 4).

In the context of this verse, weeping was more an act of worship than singing would have been. The Israelites remembered the Promised Land, and no doubt they also remembered their own sins that brought them into captivity in Babylon.

3) Worship is more than singing.

“…When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up” (1 Corinthians 14:26). “…present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).

Worship can take many different forms, and I think churches obscure the truth when they label the musical portion of a service as “worship” and they have “worship teams” whose duty is to lead the music. Prayer, giving, and receiving biblical teaching are all elements of worship.

4) We impact one another.

“…not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25). “…addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart” (Ephesians 5:19).

As we gather together, some people are joyful, some are sorrowful, some may be eager to sing, others may yearn for prayer. We are to “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2) and “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). At times that may take the form of singing words that reflect the experiences of someone else in order to remind all of us who God is and why we can find peace and joy in Him.

I have a bit of a problem with the statement from Kierkegaard that “God is the audience.” I understand that it is a necessary corrective of the idea that the congregation is the audience. However, I think it can lead people to think that worship is an act that we have to perform for God’s benefit. The fact is that God does not need our worship, though He deserves it, and we don’t have to invite Him to come to the performance. And as the above Scriptures say, we are called to gather in corporate worship for the mutual benefit that it brings to all of us. God should be the focus of all worship, because He alone is worthy, but as His Body we need one another as well. We need the frequent reminders of truths that are best communicated through worshiping together.

So it may often be that we sing songs that are theologically true even though they may not feel true on a particular day. Hopefully those who are selecting music and Scripture readings are considerate of the wide variety of experiences and emotions that are represented in a congregation from week to week. The psalmists certainly acknowledged both the ups and downs of life, and we should do the same. God is present in the valleys as well as on the mountains, and so we can worship Him wherever we may be in life.

“The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him” (John 4:23).

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.